Our Cubs
by Angelwriter84
Summary: Sequel to Deeper Into the Jungle. Written from the view of the Jungle Book characters and their cubs as they share their adventures as families.


**Our Cubs**

**Prologue: A Note to Readers**

_Hi, everyone! Before I begin the story, I just wanted to let you know that I do not own the original Jungle Book characters as well as some elements mentioned in the story. Some characters, settings, and ideas are the property of Walt Disney Studios, Rudyard Kipling, and Disney Television. This is a sequel to my last story, __**Deeper Into the Jungle**__. This story is written from the perspective of previous characters and their offspring. There will be a lot of skipping in time, but I will do my best to make everything fit together as well as I possibly can. _

_I am currently finishing an internship at Disney, and am unfortunately not able to write as often as I did with my previous story. I will post as often as time allows until I finish my internship in January, then I hope to be able to post on a regular basis. But I missed writing, so here is the sequel to my last story. I love to hear feedback from readers, so any reviews, follows, or favorites will help me a lot. It tells me how everyone responds to the story and why, so please do if you find the time. Enjoy the first chapter, everyone! And I hope to hear from you soon!_

_This first chapter may seem a bit touchy for Shere Khan's character, but right now we are picking up from the end of the first part of the story, so I am just trying to convey his love for his family. Hope you enjoy!_

_-Angelwriter84_

…

**Chapter 1: A New Day**

_Shere Khan_

The mighty hunter breathed the chilly air deeply through his nose and exhaled slowly without opening his eyes. The air was clean, misty, and chilly. _Early morning….._ It was true he was an early riser, but to rouse this early was out of the ordinary. Shere Khan shifted a bit and huffed. _How odd…._

But the sound of rustling and the feel of a tiny paw pawing timidly at his muzzle told him that it wasn't really odd at all. The great tiger felt a proud smile of amusement spread across his face as he opened his eyes to find a pair of tiny blue eyes staring back at him. He could just make out the tiny silhouette of his daughter as she leapt at the sight of his waking. His heart melted when she rubbed her tiny cheek against his muzzle. After a few seconds, he pulled back to look her in the face. "Yes?" He questioned her actions in a gentle, playful tone.

Chara couldn't quite talk yet, but she was a clever little cub. He already knew exactly what she wanted, but he and Shere Ki always encouraged her to show them what she wanted in some way. Chara rested both forepaws on his foreleg for a moment and glanced over at her mother, who was still in the deepest of sleep.

Shere Khan tilted his head quizzically. _What do you want? _Seeing his expression, Chara darted to her mother's side and pushed on her side with both forepaws; the effort proved in vain when Shere Ki made no movement. Chara faced him and sat down with an expression that said all hope was lost.

Shere Khan smiled. "Ahhh…." He knew what she wanted. It was time for her to nurse, but she couldn't get Shere Ki to wake up. Shere Khan smiled. He always hated to wake Shere Ki when she was sleeping so peacefully, but what else was he to do with his daughter's eyes growing bigger with every second?

Shere Khan rose up and prodded under his mate's jaw with his nose. "Shere Ki?"

"Hmmm….." Her question came out as a sigh as she shifted and dozed back into sleep. Shere Khan smiled and licked her cheek repeatedly until she winced and opened her eyes. "Stop, Shere Khan…. What is it?" He raised his eyebrows at her weary tone. Little Chara jumped and darted to nuzzle her mother at the sound of her voice. Shere Khan smirked at Shere Ki's knowing expression. "She wants me to move, doesn't she?"

Shere Khan nodded. "Expressive little one, isn't she?"

"Tell me about it." Shere Ki rolled onto her side with dreaded expression, knowing that her time of rest was over for the day. Little Chara leapt before them and rested one paw on Shere Ki's side as she began to nurse.

Shere Khan stepped over and lay down on the other side of Shere Ki to give her something to lean against. Shere Ki sighed in relief and leaned her head back to rest on his shoulder. She licked the side of his face lovingly before closing her eyes again. When he noticed she wasn't relaxing, he kissed the top of her head and spoke in a quiet tone. "Maybe she will take another nap when she is full?"

Shere Ki chuckled softly. "If we're lucky." She was right; Chara was an adventurous one….always ready to start the day.

Shere Khan raised an eyebrow. "Are you hungry?"

Shere Ki kept her eyes closed. "No. I'm just so tired….."

Shere Khan pretended to consider something. "Clearly…." He muttered thoughtfully. "Then it seems there is nothing for me to do this morning…."

When Shere Ki didn't respond, he nuzzled her under the jaw. "If she refuses to sleep, maybe I can spend time with her while you rest…."

Shere Ki opened her eyes in surprise. "Oh, Shere Khan….really?"

He nodded. "She's getting old enough now. And why not? I may as well 'make myself useful'." He tiled his head from side to side to emphasize the phrase he was repeating back to her from the night before.

Shere Ki's beautiful brown eyes grew serious, making the big brown irises melt softly into the gold around them. "You know I didn't mean that. You do enough. It's just that….."

Shere Khan nuzzled her to say that nothing more needed to be said. Shere Ki looked him in the eyes. "Thank you," she whispered.

Shere Khan rested his chin on her shoulder as she closed her eyes once more and began to relax. "Oh, the pleasures of raising a cub…." Shere Ki laughed at Shere Khan's ironic tone and stroked Chara's back with a paw before drifting into sleep. Shere Khan rested his head on hers with a hint of worry. Shere Ki had been very tired lately….was it really that she wasn't getting enough rest? He shook his head to clear his worry as he remembered their last visit to the home of Bagheera and Salena. The tiny cavern was quite lively with four newborn panthers to care for. Now that the cubs had just opened their eyes they were, of course, into everything and all over the place. Especially one of the little male cubs, Seth. That was the only name out of the four that Shere Khan remembered because Salena and Bagheera had to say it so often…..

…_.. "Seth! Get down!" Salena and Shere Ki forgot all about their talk when they spotted Seth and Chara climbing up a mound of rocks near the entrance to the cave. _

_Shere Ki noticed that Chara was on a loose rock and rose into a sitting position. Shere Khan saw the danger and intervened. "Chara." The little cub's blue eyes met his at the sound of his calm voice. Shere Khan retained his composure as he gave her his request. "Down." _

_Chara started to obey, but stopped when the rock wiggled under her paws. For a moment, neither cub moved. Fed up, Salena stood and approached her son irritably. "I said down, Seth. Now!" _

_At the sound of his mother's tone, Seth scurried up to Chara's rock, making it slide from the mound. Little Seth fell to the side of the mound and rolled on the ground a few times before stopping. Chara fell from the rock and skidded down the mound while the heavy rock fell just past her back paws and tumbled down to the jungle floor. Had the rock fallen on Chara or Seth, it could have hurt them badly….the rock was so heavy, and they were both just so tiny. _

_All three adult jungle cats sighed in relief once the rock hit the ground. Shere Ki removed Chara from the mound and set her on the ground to examine her. "Are you hurt, baby?" Chara looked bewildered, but smiled as her mother nuzzled her. Shere Khan felt his heart slow at the sight of her smile, meaning no harm was done. Chara noticed that her one of her forepaws was dirty and would do nothing but concentrate on cleaning it for the next few minutes. When Shere Khan nudged her in the side with his nose a few minutes later, she looked at him as if he were bothering her and set to work again. Shere Khan smiled when Shere Ki's tinkling laugh sounded when she saw his look. _

_Meanwhile, Salena had retrieved a startled, but unharmed Seth and brought him back with her; worry had apparently melted her annoyance into weariness. Salena opened her jaws and set her mischievous son down gently. "Oh, Seth…." She lay down and wrapped her forelegs around him before rubbing his nose with hers. "When will you ever listen?" _

_Seth looked almost apologetic at her exasperated tone and reached up to lick her cheek. Salena looked touched and smiled down at her son. "And why should I believe you this time?"_

_Seth gave her a look that said he had nothing. Shere Khan had just noticed that his siblings had appeared, staring over Salena's foreleg at their brother. Everything about the oldest male cub reminded Shere Khan of Bagheera at that age. Every feature….every expression…..the intelligent gleam in his yellow eyes and serious look on his face…..everything. He was now wearing his father's stern look as he looked disapprovingly at his brother. The youngest girl had Salena's structure, if not smaller, and Bagheera's eyes and nose….but anyone could see that she was a frail one. Her sweet nature overcame her as she managed to touch her nose to her brother's. The oldest girl, an exact replica of Salena AND her mother, displayed her mother's personality when she gave her sister a look that seemed to say "boys are dumb" and turned a sweet expression to her mother. Shere Khan barely refrained from rolling his eyes. _

"_Aw, how sweet they are." Shere Ki chimed as she nuzzled the top of the oldest girl's head. "They are still babies." The little cub looked nervous at first, but then her ears pricked up when she decided to trust Shere Ki. A sweet smile crossed her face as her crystal blue eyes darted to quickly look at Shere Ki before turning back to her mother. As he thought, Chara got a little jealous and crossed over to her mother. She rested her heavy eyes on Shere Ki's face and stood with both her tiny paws resting on her mother's. _

_It was never the little panther cub's intent, however, to upset anyone. She walked over to her mother and rested both paws on her foreleg to get her attention. _

"_What is it, Lydia?" Salena's blue eyes reflected her daughter's as she smiled at her. Sensing his attention had been stolen, Seth leaned over and pawed at his sister's muzzle, causing her sassy side to reappear. She reared on her back paws and used both front paws to push him over dismissively before returning to her previous engagement. She made a small cooing noise and touched her paw daintily to her mother's side before returning it to the ground and gazing at her mother with an expectant smile. _

_Salena sighed. "Again? Already?!"_

_Lydia gazed humbly at the ground as if she weren't sure what that meant and repeated her action again before turning to her mother with that same look. Picking up on what she was asking for, Seth leapt from his mother's forelegs and darted to his mother's side, causing Lydia to fall backward. _

"_Sounds like somebody's hungry." Shere Ki teased Salena with a knowing smile. Before Salena could respond, Lydia had rolled to her feet and stepped over Seth to reclaim her spot. _

_Shere Khan let out a calm, charming laugh. "Timid for one so small, isn't she?"_

_A mischievous gleam shone in Salena's eyes as she managed a sweet, amused expression. "Isn't she sweet? She gets it from me." The sarcasm behind her cooing tone was evident as the setting sun. _

"_Indeed." Shere Khan could tell by the smile on Salena's face that the ice behind his agreement was not missed. Somewhere in the midst of their last adventures together, he and Salena had found common ground. Enough to be distant friends, at least. But old habits die hard. They still fought from time to time. _

_Shere Ki sighed as she examined her daughter, who was now dozing next to her paw. "I think it's time we headed home." _

_Salena followed her gaze to Chara. "Oh…. Well maybe so. Wish my cubs would do that."_

_Shere Ki ran a paw down Chara's back soothingly. "It's a rare occasion." _

_Salena giggled before turning sincere again. "Wish you didn't have to go so soon. I'm sorry Bagheera wasn't home." _

"_Don't be. He works hard to keep the jungle people in peace." Shere Ki rubbed her cheek against Salena's as a goodbye and stood. "I can't believe the rhinos stampeded on the wolves' territory." _

"_One of the pack's puppies were hurt. That makes it a difficult situation." Salena glanced at her own newborn cubs, who were staring at her with curiosity. _

_Shere Ki looked worried. "But the puppy is….alive?"_

"_For now." Salena's low tone gave away the seriousness of the situation. _

_Shere Ki saw the worry in her eyes, and spoke with a steady voice. "Bagheera is a good voice of reason, Salena. He and Akela will fix things between the wolves and rhinos."_

"_I hope it's soon…..he's so exhausted." _

_Shere Ki rested a paw on Salena's foreleg reassuringly before stepping back. "We will come visit again soon." _

"_Oh, please do. I would come to you, but…" She looked back at her four newborn cubs to explain the rest. _

"_Absolutely not. Not until they are bigger. Besides, I think Chara enjoys the walk." Shere Khan didn't miss Shere Ki's slight sigh as she picked up a sleeping Chara by the scruff of her neck and began walking ahead, leaving Shere Khan to bid goodbye. As he stood to follow, he noticed the exasperated look on Salena's face when Seth's attention was caught by a butterfly. "She is exhausted." _

_Salena followed his gaze. "You're worried about Shere Ki, aren't you?"_

_Shere Khan managed a cool smile as an answer as Seth darted for the butterfly. "It seems she could use some of his energy."_

_Salena sighed and raised her eyes to the sky as the stepped on her son's tail to keep him from going any further. "Me too," she said humorously. _

_Shere Khan smiled teasingly, twitching his tail as he turned to go. _

"_Shere Khan?" He turned to see what the young mother wanted. Her crystal blue eyes told him she got his message. "Keep an eye on her for me." _

_Shere Khan made eye contact as a thanks before walking away. _

_Before they were out of sight of the panthers' home, Bagheera leapt down from the trees to greet them. "Going already?"_

_Shere Ki couldn't talk, so she smiled around Chara's scruff and looked to Shere Khan. Shere Khan glanced at his sleeping daughter. "Her idea." _

_Bagheera smiled knowingly. "Well….they always know best." Shere Khan caught the exhaustion in the panther's voice, and noticed his half open eyes focusing on his family not far away. Good, he could make this short. He and Bagheera still struggled with conversation at times._

"_Was an agreement reached?" Bagheera knew exactly what he meant and replied hesitantly. _

"_Just an agreement to let it rest for a few days. That's all." _

_He didn't know how Bagheera kept his temper. It was times like this he was glad situations only came to him when they were serious; otherwise, half the jungle would be ripped to shreds. But still….the injury or death of a cub was not easily overlooked. Shere Khan kept his voice calm and cool. "Should I intervene?"_

_Bagheera made sincere eye contact with him now. "Not now." _

"_I'll decide within the next few days." Bagheera, for a change, didn't argue, which made gave the Great Tiger an idea of what the decision would be. Shere Ki cut her eyes to meet his. Time to make conversation lighter. Shere Khan raised his eyebrow with a mischievous grin. "Any word from the bears?"_

_Bagheera cracked a smile before a small note of rich laughter escaped him. "Not a word." He took his cue to start walking to his family. "They will turn up." _

_Shere Khan raised his eyes thoughtfully to the sky, making the Shere Ki giggle and nudge him before continuing. Over his shoulder, Shere Khan could see Bagheera rubbing noses with Salena. They both looked exhausted….but so happy it didn't matter anymore. All four cubs raised their heads to greet their father before going back to nursing. Bagheera lay down beside Salena and said something with a sweet smile, making her laugh and shake her head before resting it on his shoulder. Bagheera kissed the top of her head and watched his cubs. All was well for now. Shere Khan turned away and gently took Chara from Shere Ki, who smiled and kissed his cheek before following him home…._

…The sound of thunder rumbling in the distance shook him out of his thoughts. On second thought, it seemed everyone would be sleeping in today. Shere Khan looked back to see that his cub had long finished and for a change, had curled up and gone back to sleep. Her blue eyes opened with tears at the sound of the thunder. His daughter afraid of storms? But she was still very small….and being aware of the danger of the climate was a good thing.

Shere Khan nuzzled her to quiet her sniffling, forgetting his calm, cool nature as he comforted his only daughter. "Ssshhh…..Chara…..you know you will be safe."

He scooped her up with his jaws and cradled her in his forelegs. "You know I will never let anything happen to you or your mother."

For a moment, her beautiful blue eyes surrounded by gold met his….and like every time they did, he was staring into the eyes of his mother. Shere Khan kissed the top of her head. "Get some rest."

After a moment, Chara stood and spun in a slow circle before curling up against one of his forelegs. His heart nearly broke for his daughter….she was still so small, and so innocent. "I will always protect you." He knew his voice was almost inaudible.

Next to him, Shere Ki was shivering. Shere Khan nudged her awake. When a glare was shot in his direction, he ignored it. "You're shivering."

Shere Ki tried to steady herself. "The….the wind…."

"Come on the other side of me to keep warm."

Shere Ki rose up to obey, then turned to find a missing cub. "Chara?"

"I have her." Shere Ki smiled when she saw Chara sleeping peacefully next to his foreleg.

"Will you both be warm enough?" She shook her head when he raised an eyebrow and crawled on the other side of him. As she made herself comfortable, she teased him. "Quality time?"

"Inside today." _What in the jungle does she expect me to do?_

As if she read his mind, she nuzzled him as she said just the right thing. "I don't know what we would do without you."

"Maybe you will never have to figure that out." Shere Khan lay awake a while after she drifted back into sleep. Listening to the wind howl. Every time Chara flinched, he nuzzled her until she relaxed again. Finally, after years of waiting, he was at peace. Knowing the ones he cared about were safe.


End file.
